Turbulence
by klcarr892
Summary: A bumpy plane ride forces a long overdue conversation. Post 6x20
1. Chapter 1

_A/N Kind of a 6x20 tag and kind of something else. Based on minor speculations for upcoming episodes. Obvious spoilers for the last episode. I hope you enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own TM. If I did, there would be many more seasons left. :'(_

* * *

Turbulence

Jane was relieved to finally make it to his seat after the seriously awkward ride to the airport. Security was a breeze thanks to the FBI so now they just had to make it through a two-hour flight sitting next to one another. He took the window seat so Lisbon wouldn't feel as trapped in the small plane. She, on the other hand, sat and promptly opened the large file to their latest (and her last) case, a cold case with new evidence from a witness living in the sunshine state.

They hadn't spoken other than rhetorical statements as Lisbon had guided them though the large airport to their gate. She was upset, that was obvious but Jane wasn't sure if it was because Abbot had practically forced her to take this last case even though she had planned to leave with her beloved Pike the previous evening, or because of the argument they had after the completion of the previous case three days ago. Probably a combination of the two, Jane surmised. He hated that she would leave angry with him. Heck, he hated that she was leaving at all but that was out of his hands now. He had vowed to let her decide on her own, telling himself it was because he didn't want her to regret the decision later, blaming him for influencing it in any way. Truthfully, he was just a coward. He was never good at being honest with his feelings.

The captain announced that they were about to taxi onto the runway. He informed them their flight path would be longer than anticipated due to a storm brewing in the gulf and that their flight would be extended to two and three quarter hours. Lisbon visibly sighed and Jane wondered if it were really that miserable sitting next to him.

Jane made an effort to make the trip as stress-free as possible, keeping silent as Lisbon reviewed the files. Instead, he spent the time memorizing her every feature. It wasn't that his memory palace lacked a crystal clear image of Teresa Lisbon but he wanted as many memories as possible for when the real Lisbon wouldn't be around for him to appreciate.

"Please Jane, stop staring. I can hardly concentrate as it is on this stuffy airplane without you ogling me."

Jane was surprised she had noticed. She hadn't seemed to notice much about him as of late. Besides, he had intentionally watched her through his peripheral vision just to be on the safe side. He didn't reply but moved his gaze out the small airplane window to the cloudy sky below. He wondered if the weather was nicer in DC. Probably.

Pike was a good man. He treated Lisbon the way she should be treated. He didn't put her in harm's way or ask her to do things that made her uncomfortable. Lisbon had made that perfectly clear three days ago. They had crashed the smuggling ring but not without some unconventional trickery. Jane had led her and the team straight into a dangerous situation…again. He didn't regret solving the case or saving a couple of dozen young women's lives but he did regret the necessary methods and the ramifications of those methods. He had apologized, again, and hadn't been prepared for Lisbon's response.

"_Whatever Jane. At least that's one thing I won't have to worry about in DC."_

So she had decided. Jane, having lost both the argument and any chance he possibly had with Lisbon retreated to his airstream to ponder what the rest of his miserable life would look like.

"Sir, Ma'am would you like a complementary beverage?" The flight attendant snapped Jane out of his thoughts.

"Just a water, thanks." Lisbon said.

Jane just shook his head.

The flight attendant handed Lisbon a bottle and moved down the isle.

"What, no tea?" Lisbon asked unscrewing the cap of her water. "Or is airline tea not quality enough for you?"

Jane didn't bother to respond, not wanting to start another argument with her on the airplane. Instead, he resumed his gaze out the window as large droplets of rain began pelting the window.

"Peanuts?" She tried, offering one of the small baggies to him.

He shook his head.

"Look, I'm sorry ok?" Lisbon suddenly said determined. "You shouldn't have found out about my decision to move to DC that way. I agreed to go along with your plan so I can't blame you for all of the headache."

He didn't move.

"I wish you would just tell me what you're thinking. Please, say something."

He let out a half-hearted chuckle.

"What?"

Still looking out the window, "It's just , the last time we were on an airplane you were telling me not to interfere with your life."

"That's not what I said."

"No, you said I was difficult and exhausting. You couldn't wait to get the case over with so you could go running back to your exciting life as a sheriff in the middle of nowhere."

"I stayed didn't I?"

Jane turned and simply stared at her. Sure she had stayed but not for long. He had tried to do as she asked and she was leaving anyway.

It was Lisbon's turn to look elsewhere, unable to handle the intensity of Jane's eyes as they screamed for her to read him. That was the problem. She had no bloody clue what was going on in that mind of his. She might have an idea but it was only a guess.

Any hypothesis vanished as the airplane cabin began to tremble. The seatbelt light came on as the captain announced they were flying though a bit of turbulence from the nearby storm. Lisbon hated flying. She hated being out of control, at the mercy of the pilots and a flying hunk of metal thousands of feet in the air. Lisbon didn't realize she was grasping the armrests of her seat until Jane pried the hand nearest him with his left.

"It's going to be okay Lisbon. It's just a little shaky but we'll be out of it soon. After we meet with the witnesses this afternoon, I'll take you to one of those overpriced bars on the beach and you can order one of those girly fruit cocktails with the umbrellas."

She barely registered the words and didn't notice Jane's thumb tracing lazy circles on her hand until her heart rate finally began to slow down. Eventually, she realized the plane was barely shaking anymore and she loosened her grip on Jane's hand. It was then that she saw it.

Jane must have noticed her heart rate increase again and looked to see what had caused the alarm.

His wedding band was absent. "Where…?" Lisbon managed.

"Back in Austin, in the Airstream. "

"When?" Her and her one-word questions.

"Last week."

Lisbon's mind raced backwards to the previous week. They had still been working on the trafficking case. Abbott had forced the two of them to scope out the Italian restaurant. Could that have been it? But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Jane had come by the following evening, with cannolis. He had wanted to talk to her, she knew but only had managed to tell her that her happiness was the most important thing to him and that she should do what brought her that happiness. She hadn't missed the catch in his words or how broken he looked as he walked away, leaving her with a bag of pastries and an aching heart. How had she missed it then and in the days since then?

"I don't understand." She was up to three words, an improvement.

Jane took her hand again and she noticed with regret that his broken stare had returned. "I meant what I said. You deserve to be happy Lisbon. I want that for you. I just…" He hesitated, not sure if he should bring this up now, her decision made.

"You just what Jane?"

"I just thought that maybe I'd present to you another option, one where you would stay in Austin with me."

"Why? Because, how did you put it, DC will be boring?"

"I think we both know that wasn't the option I intended to present?"

"Then why the hell did you walk away Jane? You never let people get in the way of what you want so why start now?"

Jane suddenly found a loose thread on his jacket very interesting as Lisbon once again hit him with her questioning eyes. "Because for once in my life I didn't want it to be about me. I know you have no reason to believe me but I meant it when I said you mean more to me than you'll ever know. I'd do anything for you if I thought it would make you happy, including watching you walk away with someone who isn't me."

They sat hand in hand for the rest of the flight, both trying to keep their emotions in check. By some miracle they made it to the witnesses' house in one piece and took the necessary statements. Then, as promised, Jane took Lisbon to the first drinking establishment they could find along the beach. They sat just as the sun was setting, the irony lost to neither of them.

"Let me fetch us some drinks." Jane stood and paused. "I have something for you."

Déjà vu crashed into her like the waves on the nearby shore. He held out his clenched hand and she offered her palm.

The small paper frog didn't jump until Jane had disappeared to fetch the drinks. After ten years, she still had no idea how he did it but something told her she may just have to stick around to find out.

_Fin_


	2. Beautiful Times

RENEWED FOR SEASON 7! So excited!

_A/N Anyway, because a few people asked, I wrote a second chapter. This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Christina (SteeleSimz). It is her birthday today so you should all wish her a Happy Birthday on twitter._

_Disclaimer: Lyrics belong to the always talented Adam Young._

* * *

_Beautiful Times_

**_A slow motion wave on the ocean stirs my emotion up like a rain cloud. _**

"Walk on the beach with me?" Jane asked after they had finished their drinks. The sun had completely set and the moon was just barely visible behind a nearby cloud.

"Sure." Lisbon said still conflicted but more relaxed than she had been in weeks. At least they were talking. It was a start.

They walked close to the shore, the waves washing over their bare feet. Lisbon had removed her sandals and Jane had taken off his shoes and socks. Lisbon noticed he was still wearing the socks she had bought him in Washington. She really should have bought more than one pair. He must wash them (she hoped) every night.

The clouds in the distance lit up with lightening as if stars were exploding inside of them.

"Do you think the storm will reach shore?" She asked as they rounded a turn in the beach. She could see a light far off ahead. A campfire perhaps though she wasn't sure those were allowed on the beach.

"Might. The wind is beginning to pick up."

She didn't want to even know what her hair looked like. It had been whipping around her face since they had started walking. The temperature was also dropping. She could feel goosebumps on her bare arms.

Jane must have noticed because the next thing she knew, his coat was draped over her shoulders.

"Thank you."

"No problem." His hair too was blowing in the wind though unlike her he looked perfect even with tousled locks.

As they drew closer to the light Lisbon could see that it wasn't a campfire at all but some kind of boardwalk or platform outlined in tiki torches.

"Jane, can you tell me what was it that made you take off your wedding ring? I mean after all this time why now?"

Jane gently grasped Lisbon's arm, effectively stopping her before they reached the boardwalk. "You really don't know?" He asked in almost a whisper.

Lisbon shook her head, eyes wide in anticipation.

He looked troubled and she wondered what was so complicated about giving a straight answer for once in his life.

Finally, brokenly, he said, "I just can't. Not here." Before Lisbon could register what was happening, Jane leaned in quickly kissed her cheek and then high tailed it back in the direction they had came from.

She could barely register the fact that Jane left warm tears on her cheek that weren't her own and was about to run after him when a voice behind her made her jump.

"Teresa?"

Lisbon turned, stunned to find Marcus standing on the boardwalk which she now realized led up, away from the beach into some kind of gazebo also lit but with white Christmas lights.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, quickly wiping the moisture from her face.

"I couldn't choose between a condo in the suburbs or a modern apartment in the city." He said smiling.

She noticed for the first time he was wearing dark pants and a nice white button up shirt that fluttered lazily in the breeze.

"You came all the way out here over a housing decision?"

He smirked. "No Teresa. I was joking. I just missed you and the thought of starting new while you're still stuck in the past seemed rather depressing."

"It's only a couple of days Marcus."

"I'm aware of that. Plus, your case is in such a beautiful location. How could I pass it up? Can I show you something Teresa?" Pike held out his hand for her to take.

Lisbon hesitated, glancing back in the direction Jane had disappeared.

"I'm sure Jane can manage finding his way back to the hotel on his own. Besides, I don't think we have much time. Those thunderclouds seem to be getting closer."

Lisbon swallowed the lump in her throat. What was going on? Why did these two people literally have to be tearing her in half?

"Five minutes and then you we can head back."

Lisbon hesitated a moment longer and then took Pike's hand. He led her down the short path and towards the gazebo. There was no one else in sight.

"I ah wanted to wait until you had made a decision before planning this."

"You planned this?" She motioned, indicating the surroundings.

"Yeah, well with Jane's help."

"Jane as in Patrick Jane helped you with this?"

"Yes when I told him what my intensions were he offered to help. He even wanted to pay for the flights and hotel. Something about wanting only the best and him selling his house in California. Thankfully with the case, he didn't need …"

Lisbon's head was spinning. Jane sold his house? He helped Marcus with his secret plan to what whisk her away for a weekend retreat? Lisbon barely registered what Pike was saying. Something about not getting any younger and knowing when something special is right in front of you. Lisbon wanted to be sick and then her whole world uprooted when Marcus went down on one knee.

* * *

The waves crashed against the sides of the stone jetty as Jane watched the oncoming storm. Cold ocean spray mixed with warm salty tears on his face. He had nearly held it together. He would have if she hadn't asked him the single question he couldn't answer. Not then with Pike waiting in the shadows to pour out his own heart. It wouldn't have been fair to either of them.

He knew it was coming. He knew from the start of the trip that Marcus had wanted to surprise her with a marriage proposal on the beach. It was romantic really and he could almost imagine the scene if it didn't crush him like the weight of moon itself every time the image crossed his mind.

Without thinking, he went to twist the band on his own ring finger out of habit, forgetting its absence. It made him feel untethered without it, a man with no past, a bleak present, and little hope for a future.

"You're an idiot you know."

He jumped. He hadn't heard anyone approach him in the dark. Lisbon was a mere few feet away standing on the rocks.

"I've never denied it."He responded he offered his hand for her so she wouldn't slip on the wet boulders.

Being the ever-dependent woman, Lisbon walked the rest of the distance on her own and sat down on a nearby rock.

"I only want…"

"Me to be happy," Lisbon interrupted. "What are you a parrot? How many times are you going to say that?"

"It's true."

"You think planning my engagement on a beach in the middle of a case right before a hurricane is the way to make me happy?"

He looked back at her. She was close by but it was dark and drizzling so it was difficult to make out her features. "I spent a decade taking from you Lisbon. I've cost you your career, your social life, heck I nearly got you killed on multiple occasions."

"That was my decision to make Jane. I knew what the risks were when I asked you to help us, when I handed you those Red John case files."

He wasn't hearing any of it and continued. "I just thought that if I could give you back some of what I took, then maybe it would be okay. Maybe I could live with myself. You might have been able to live with your decisions Lisbon but I still had to live with mine."

"So all of this is you trying to make up for everything?"

He shook his head. "There's no way I could make up for everything but maybe the big things. I could give you your career back or at least close to what you had with the CBI. I could not interfere when someone worthwhile sweeps you off your feet and gives you everything I can't."

"You know after everything. After Red John, after Venezuela, heck after Vegas there's still one thing you always take from me and you never give back."

Jane took her left hand in earnest. "Tell me, I'll give you anything."

She tugged with the hand in his grasp and grabbed the collar of his hideous floral shirt. "You, you idiot." She kissed him waiting for his mind to catch up. He eventually responded grabbing a handful of straggly hair at her nape to urge her closer. An unknown energy hummed through them as the kiss intensified. They only broke apart when the electricity around them exploded ever closer and a crack of thunder shook the sky overhead.

"Please tell me you said no to Marcus." Jane said grasping her shoulders still clad in his jacket.

"Let's just say I sent Pike packing. He was moving way too fast. I couldn't keep up though I felt bad he came all the way out here."

"Yeah, the twelve-year plan is more your speed." Jane said cheekily, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages.

She swatted him lightly in the arm. "I'm going to make you regret you made me wait all those years."

"Don't worry, I already do though I hope to make up for it the next few dozen years." He stood and then offered his hand to help her stand. He then wrapped her in his arms, not really believing she was really here. She, in turn held on with all her might. Glad everything was finally in the open. She realized this was what true happiness felt like.

So lost in their own world, the two on the jetty didn't realize the rain had stopped. The storm had changed course and by the looks of it, in a few hours time there would be a beautiful sunrise.

_**We all sufferer, but we recover, just to discover life where we all are. **_

Fin


End file.
